Biographies

Mr. Jordan graduated from Elizabethtown College in 1970 with a degree in Business Administration/Management. He began working part-time at LB Smith Ford Lincoln Inc. in 1963 and started full-time in 1971. As Chairman of the Board of Smith Land & Improvement Corporation, the parent company of LB Smith Ford Lincoln, Mr. Jordan's primary responsibilities for an $80 million company include strategic planning and decision making for the dealership, as well as growing the company's development interests and fortifying its real estate portfolio. Smith Land & Improvement Corporation is celebrating 53 years with a laser-focus on Commitment to Community. Opportunities for EnterpriseSM.

A longtime community champion and philanthropist, Mr. Jordan serves on the board of trustees of Messiah College and was a former board member for the Holy Spirit Health System. He was vice-chair of Elizabethtown College's board of trustees, and a board member for the Harrisburg Area YMCA, Goodwill Industries, the former Dauphin Deposit Bank and Trust, and past president of the West Shore Country Club. Mr. Jordan's strong leadership and ability to attract talented team players distinguishes him as a role model for next-generation business professionals. In 2013, he received an honorary doctorate from Elizabethtown College.

The author of numerous opinion editorials in the Patriot-News and the Central Penn Business Journal, Mr. Jordan has also been published in International Council of Shopping Centers’ Shopping Centers Today magazine. He was also a member of the Central Penn Business Journal’s Executive Roundtable on “Making Place in the Midstate.” Under his leadership, Smith Land & Improvement Corporation was recognized in 2014 as a Governor’s Impact Award finalist in Pennsylvania.

Currently, Mr. Jordan is co-chair with his son, Richard E. Jordan III, of The Salvation Army Harrisburg Capital City Region’s Capital Campaign, Building Legacies. Transforming Lives. “We are in the business of ‘place making.’ Our properties carry more than economic value, they showcase the strength of our region’s products, services, and talented workforce,” says Mr. Jordan.

Richard E. Jordan III, President and CEO, is the third generation of Jordan leadership for Smith Land & Improvement Corporation. “These are exciting times to be in land development and to reimagine and redevelop properties for the highest and best use of all our assets—our people, new technologies, job growth—and ultimately to strengthen our communities.”

Jordan III joined the company in 1994 and began his career in L.B. Smith, Inc.’s heavy equipment division in Florida. Promoted to Vice President in 2003, he moved back to the Harrisburg area to work directly with real estate investment partners and manage the entire leasing portfolio for retail, office, and manufacturing clients. In 2015, Jordan III was promoted to Chief Operating Officer and in 2018 President and Chief Executive Officer.

A passionate community servant, he serves on The Salvation Army Harrisburg Capital City Region Advisory Board, is a Director for Franklin Financial Services Corporation and F&M Trust, Director Emeritus for the Camp Hill Lion Foundation, Past Director of the Harrisburg Regional Chamber and CREDC Board, and was recognized by the Central Penn Business Journal as a Forty Under 40 winner. Honored to lead the corporation in its 100th year and beyond, he will continue to build on Smith Land’s reputation for responsible and responsive commercial real estate development. He can be reached atrjordan3@smithlandusa.com and on Twitter at @RickJordan3.